Now thatThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildfinally has some new content, the speedrunning community has begun to migrate back to one of Nintendo’s finest games. It only took players five hours tobeatBreath of the Wild’s Master Trials DLCafter it had launched, and the torrid pace has continued as talented speedrunners all attempt to one-up each other for world firsts using the additional content.
It hasn’t taken long for some serious breakthroughs to be made, either. A Canadian speedrunner named Loloup managed to beat the entirety ofBreath of the Wild’s Trial of the Sword in just over an hour, and it’s an incredibly impressive feat that deserves recognition. The video is worth a look, and can be found here:
For those who aren’t entirely familiar with the new content,Breath of the Wild’s Trial of the Sword consists of a main challenge that spans 60 floors of enemies, split into three parts. It’s an unforgiving scenario made even more complicated by the gamestripping players of their weapons, food, and other items before they attempt it - a move that’s reminiscent of one of the main game’s most iconic locations.
That’s what makes the achievement of Loloup’s run even more impressive - there isn’t a whole lot of wiggle room yet, since pre-established strategies that work duringBreath of the Wild’s main game often rely on key items that simply aren’t available at the beginning of the Trial of the Sword. While it’s likely that the DLC will be figured out even further and a sub-hour time will happen sooner rather than later, Loloup has set the bar high for runners from the outset.
Luckily, Trial of the Sword isn’t just about absurd challenges most gamers can’t begin to consider - there’s a lot of enjoyable post-game content to be had for everyone, likeBreath of the Wild’sown Majora’s Mask equipment. Clever nods to past iterations ofThe Legend of Zelda, alongside the challenges Nintendo has presented in the new content, makes The Master Trials a must-have for owners ofBreath of the Wild, and should keep the speedrunning community busy for the next little while as well.
